ST CLEMENT CHURCH
ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY COMMUNITY SERVICE
Good morning
Yet again, I am being challenged! Today’s gospel reading is even more difficult than usual. Why? Jesus doesn’t behave as I, and I am sure we all, expect him to behave. But is it that simple or are we yet again being asked to ‘dig deeper,’ and re-assess what our faith really is, or should be?
My love to you all
Liz
Lord God, in a universe that seems so immense it is easy to feel insignificant as we stand here today. Yet we know that we are precious in your sight – unique individuals loved and blessed in so many ways. We stand in awe of the one who has created all things and dedicate this time and all our days to your service. Accept this offering we pray, our sacrifice of praise and worship. Amen
We say together:
We worship a God of Promise, whose saving Grace brought a people from captivity into a land of promise, whose enduring love still leads us from places of captivity into a promise of peace, forgiveness and eternal life. The promises of God endure for ever. The promises of God will be fulfilled. Amen
Hymn: 473 When morning guilds the skies
Prayer of Confession
God of healing, God of wholeness, we bring our brokenness, our sinfulness, our fears and despair, and lay them at your feet.
God of healing, God of wholeness, we hold out our hearts and hands, minds and souls to feel your touch, and know the peace that only you can bring.
God of healing, God of wholeness, this precious moment in your presence and power grant us faith and confidence that here broken lives are made whole. Amen
The Collect
O God, you declare your almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace, that we, running the way of your commandments, may receive your gracious promises, and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Readings:
Isaiah 56. 1, 6 - 8
Romans 11. 1 – 2a, 29 - 32
Hymn: 456 Teach me my God and King
Gospel: Matthew 15. 21 - 28
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew. Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
Jesus went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
A Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’
But he did not answer her at all.
And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’
He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’
But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’
He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’
She said, ‘Yes Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.’
Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’
And her daughter was healed instantly.
(This is the Gospel of our Lord. Praise to you, O Christ)
Reflection
“Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong. They are weak but he is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me …”
I certainly know that song … knew that song when I was a child. Did you?
It describes the Jesus of our childhood. It’s simple. It’s easy. It conjures up images of a sentimental faith and a sweet, almost cuddly Jesus. Those are images many still cling to … that’s how we want the world to be, the way we want to live and who we want Jesus to be. The problem is that that kind of faith encourages a naivete about God, life and the world.
Look at the news … famine, the desolation of fires. Listen to our politicians. Calculate the cost of wars. Study history. Walk amongst those who visit Food Banks. Talk with a cancer patient, their surviving partner or the alcoholic struggling to get well. Balance the family budget, work full-time, raise your children, be faithful in your marriage, and while you’re at it, remember to eat well and exercise! We all know what it’s like. We’ve each got our own story. We need a faith that can carry us through this life. Too often a sentimental faith becomes cynicism, causes us to turn away from our difficulties, or leaves us feeling paralyzed. Life is neither simple nor easy.
So why should we settle for a faith that is.
We’ve all grown up since the days of singing “Jesus loves me” but has our faith grown up? Yes, Jesus loves us but faith is not about sentimentality and Jesus is not always soft and cuddly. Just ask the Canaanite woman in today’s gospel reading. She’ll tell you all about it. She’s not one of the chosen people. She’s an outsider that the insiders don’t want to be around. There’s something about her that is not acceptable. On top of that she is a woman in a society in which women have no real value or standing. To make matters worse she’s a screamer with a crazy child.
Life for her is neither simple nor easy. Sentimentality won’t cut it. She needs help so she comes to Jesus. Yes, Jesus loves her but he ignores her and then calls her a dog. So what do we make of that?
This is a reading that everyone struggles with … yes, some people have tried to offer excuses to justify Jesus’ behaviour but none are really convincing. Jesus was teaching his disciples? He was testing her faith? Jesus didn’t really understand the full extent of his mission and ministry? Really? Regardless of why Jesus did what he did, we don’t like it. It makes us uncomfortable. That’s not the Jesus we want but that’s the Jesus we get today. And sometimes, that’s the Jesus we get in life.
There are days we pray and get no answer. We come before God and offer all that we are and all that we have. We speak our words, express our feelings, make known our needs and nothing happens. We wait. We listen. God is silent. It’s like talking to the walls of our room. If you’ve ever felt this way then you know this Canaanite woman.
“Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he doesn’t answer at all. Instead, he talks about her to the disciples. She hears every word. “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” Jesus tells them. For her, there are no words, no gestures, no acknowledgement, no explanation … nothing at all.
What do we do when this happens? Where do we go? Do we give up? Get mad? Quit the Church? All we can do is show up. Pray. Regardless of what God does or does not do, we must show up. Even if it seems that God doesn’t. This is what the Canaanite woman does.
Jesus is silent. She could go home, argue, or ask “Why?” But she doesn’t. Instead, she comes closer to Jesus, falls before him and keeps on worshipping him, saying, “Lord, help me.” That doesn’t make sense but it is what she does. This woman who is ignored and seemingly rejected by Jesus moves even closer, entering deeper into his silence and begs like a dog. She continues to show up trusting that somehow, it’s enough to just be there before him. At some point he has to act. She doesn’t know when or what he will do. She only knows that she will be there when he does do something.
This time he answers. “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” He calls her a dog, an animal. These words sound so harsh, so mean, so wrong. They are. But maybe they are not about Jesus or the woman. Jesus is talking about the reality of the world in which they both live. The reality is that there are children and there are dogs. We see it every day. Some have while many do not. Some are in and others are out. For some, life flourishes. Others struggle to make it to another day … children and dogs.
This is how the world is … how it was before either Jesus or the woman was born. That doesn’t make it right and we should do all we can to change it. However, that is the world in which we must pray, the world in which we must live our faith, the world in which we must learn to show up. That’s the world in which Jesus and this Canaanite woman meet. Life is neither simple nor easy and dogs don’t eat the children’s food in this world.
The woman knows this. She even agrees with Jesus. “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs under their master’s table.” She has again found a way to show up and be present even when it seems everyone and everything is against her. This time Jesus speaks and acts. “Great is your faith,” he tells her. That very hour her daughter is healed.
So, what do we make of that? Some say she finally wore him down and Jesus relented to get her to be quiet and go away. That sounds more like what we do. Others say that she is rewarded for her persistence. Maybe, but both you and I know of persistence that does not get rewarded. So, what’s the difference? Others suggest Jesus realizes that he is wrong and changes his mind. Perhaps.
I don’t know why Jesus acts the way he does. Maybe we don’t need to know. Maybe this story isn’t even about Jesus. It’s about us, our faith and our world.
Life is difficult. Deep abiding faith is a real struggle. The world is broken and divided into children and dogs. In the dog days of life all we can do is continue to show up and that’s enough. God may or may not do what we want. It doesn’t really matter. To not show up is to only deepen the divide. To turn away means that we won’t be there when God does act. We will miss it. We will miss the moment of healing, the words of forgiveness, the acts that transform. We will never know that Jesus really does love us.
Amen
Hymn: 387 Jesus good above all other
Our Intercessions by Helen Dunbar
Almighty God our heavenly Father you promised through your Son Jesus Christ to hear us when we pray in faith.
We ask for your blessing on the Christian Church throughout the world, for all who minister and preach; we pray for our own church and congregation and our local community and for all clergy in our diocese. We ask God’s blessing on our own Revd Diane, as she continues with her very busy work schedule, and we also ask for God’s blessing on her husband Ken and her family. We give thanks for Father David and Reader Liz, for all the work they do for us here at St Clement.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
God of power and might we pray for the leaders of the world, those who make decisions on behalf of countries and groups. We pray that their hearts and minds may be governed by you, and that all selfish ambition and greed be cast aside. We ask for decisions to be made, that will seek for justice and fairness for all people. We pray for Ukraine where people are still suffering as a result of a war, not of their own making, that continues to rumble on for years and the hardship they have to endure just gets greater and greater.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Loving God, have mercy on all who feel they are unimportant and ignored by society, those who are deprived and rejected through poverty or disability.
God of creation, we pray for the natural world and the resources of the earth. We pray that we will learn from the mistakes that have been made, and heed the warnings given in bringing about an end to the damage that has already been done by climate change. Lord, we ask that you show each of us how we can make a difference, knowing like stones thrown into the water, the smallest actions can have ripples that spread far and wide. We pray for all those countries and people for whom climate change is not an abstract thing they see on the news, but something bringing destruction and devastation into their lives.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
We ask for your blessing on King Charles and Queen Camilla and all working members of the royal family.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Loving God, father of all, we pray for all who are in any kind of need; those who are suffering ill health, or are waiting for a diagnosis, those who may be struggling financially and all who may be overcome with fear, loneliness, isolation, or grief. Lord, we think of those who have nobody to pray for them, knowing that although they may feel invisible, they are seen, known, and loved by you. We pray for all those known to us and we especially remember at this time: Ken and Revd Di, Sabie, Brian, May, Susan, Daphne and David, Dot, Pam and David, Maureen, Mary, Michael and Patricia, Alison and Rob, Jeremy, Anita and Stephen, Callum and Elaine, Barbara, Roger, Lorrie, Jeanette and David, Kate, Katharine, and Margaret, and all who have no one to pray for them. Be with them in their time of need.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Loving God, we ask your blessing on all who are enjoying their summer holiday in our beautiful county and we also think of all the many people whose job it is to keep us all safe on our beaches and roads during this busy holiday time, and we pray for our doctors, hospitals, ambulance crews, the fire service, police, the coast guard service and many others.
Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer
We remember all those whose anniversary falls at this time and we call to mind - Edgar Davey, Alfred Hobbs, Ian Scott Tilsley, Martin Davies, and Edith May Everitt.
We pray for the recently departed and also our thoughts go to their grieving friends and relatives.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of St Clement, St Andrew, St Allen and all the saints.
Merciful Father: accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
We say together:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen
These words were found written on a concentration camp wall after World War II.
I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining.
I believe in love when I feel it not.
I believe in God even when he is silent.
The Peace
Jesus says to his disciples, ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
Not as the world gives do I give to you.
Let not your hearts be troubled or afraid.’
The peace of the Lord be always with us.
Hymn: 372 He who would valiant be
The Blessing
May God’s Word be in our hearts.
May God’s Word be on our Lips.
May God’s Word be in our touch.
May God’s Word direct our feet.
On this day and all our days to come
May God’s Word be the life we live.
Amen